The Meal Kit That Officially Got Me Out of My Cooking Rut (It’s So Delicious!)

Kurt Suchman
Kurt Suchman
Kurt Suchman is a writer focused on food, music, culture, and LGBTQ+ topics. Their work has been featured in Vulture, The Seattle Times, and Food52 among other publications. Currently based in Seattle, they feel the need to remind everyone they are from New Jersey.
updated Sep 26, 2024
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Green Chef shrimp salad
Credit: Kurt Suchman

You know that feeling when you cook a new recipe for the first time, and it comes out so well that your only thought is, “I’ll be making this a lot more often”? I love that feeling. Maybe it’s the upcoming holidays, or maybe it’s because I’ve been stressed about a move, but lately I’ve been missing that feeling.

Instead, I’ve been in a cooking rut and didn’t know how to get out of it. But I tried Green Chef’s meal kit recently and it helped me break out of my routine with some delicious new meals that I’ll be keeping in my back pocket.

Quick Overview

A Quick Look at Green Chef

  • Meal kit delivery service that uses only organic ingredients, donates surplus ingredients, and claims to offset 100% of its carbon emissions 
  • Delicious and inventive dishes only take about 30 minutes to cook
  • Prices start at $11.99 per serving
  • A great option for those who need some cooking inspiration

What is Green Chef?

Green Chef is a meal kit delivery plan that uses mostly organic ingredients, helps to minimize food waste by donating surplus ingredients, and claims to offset 100% of its carbon emissions. In situations where organic ingredients aren’t available, the brand will note that through the food packaging labels. 

What’s So Great About Green Chef?

Although the company’s progressive policies feel good to support, the real clincher here is that the meals are just so darn delicious!

One of my favorite recipes from Green Chef was Harissa Apricot Chicken over a warm farro pilaf. I immediately knew I had to recreate it on my own after I tried it from my box. The recipe was easy and the meal was delicious, plus I had a leftover serving that made for a wonderful lunch the next day.

Credit: Kurt Suchman

Another favorite was the pork loin seasoned with orange zest and paprika served with a lemon-caper sauce and sautéed cauliflower (the recipes change regularly so I couldn’t find it online, but it’s very close to this one!). The flavors were so fresh and inventive that they were unlike anything I’ve ever tried in a meal kit — and I’ve tested more than 10!  

What’s even better about these original, out-of-the-box recipes is that even though the meals look complicated, they’re surprisingly easy to put together. All three recipes I received in my box took only about 30 minutes to cook, while some other meal kits I’ve tested have take up to 45 minutes.

Credit: Kurt Suchman

How Much Does Green Chef Cost?

Given the ingredients, you’d be correct in thinking that Green Chef’s prices run a bit higher than other meal kits. Meals start at around $11.99 per serving, which is a sizable difference from the $9.99 per serving price point of Hello Fresh and the $5.99 per serving costs of more budget-friendly kits like EveryPlate that I’ve tested.

It’s not a surprise because organic ingredients are usually more expensive than standard, and Green Chef is still cheaper than other meal kit services. With the use of specialty ingredients like organic meats and unique seasoning blends (like the harissa and orange-paprika blend I mentioned earlier), Green Chef members receive several low-impact, high-reward recipes that really deliver on quality and flavor.

Credit: Kurt Suchman

Who Is Best Suited for Green Chef?

Because Green Chef is a little more expensive and the recipes are a bit more unconventional from other services, I wouldn’t recommend the service for families with picky eaters or folks who are feeding a crowd. But if you like adventurous flavors, want to try new-to-you dishes, and have the budget, Green Chef would be a great service to try. For me and my partner, who both love to cook and needed some extra inspiration, Green Chef was a perfect choice.  

Buy: Green Chef (6 servings), $80.94